Eleven male athletes have been nominated for the 2023 Male World Athlete of the year. These included Neeraj Chopra of India (Javelin), Ryan Crouser of the USA (Shot Put), Mondo Duplantis of Sweden (Pole Vault), Souflane El Bakkali of Morocco (Steeplechase), Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway (1500m 2000m, 5000m, 1-mile and 2-mile), Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya (Marathon), Pierce Le Page of Canada (Decathlon), Noah Lyles of the USA (100m and 200m), Alvaro Martin of Spain (20Km), Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece (Long Jump) and Karsten Warholm of Norway (400mH). This field is a very impressive field. However, there are a few front runners who stand head and shoulders above the rest.
The obvious contenders
The reigning Olympic Champion, Neeraj Chopra was nominated on the strength of his achievement at the Budapest World Championship, where he won gold in the Javelin, with an impressive throw of 88.17m.
Ryan Crouser of the USA has put together some really impressive throws in the Shot Put for the 2023 season. The world record holder, Olympic champion and world champion has thrown 23.51m to win gold at the Budapest World Championship after throwing 23.07m at the London Athletic Meet at the Olympic Stadium. On May 27, at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, Crouser threw 23.56m (WR) to win the event.
Mondo Duplantis broke the World Record on two occasions during 2023. The first was on February 23, 2023, where he cleared 6.22m. The second was on September 17, 2023, where he cleared 6.23m. However, Duplantis did not win the event at the World Championship in Budapest as he did last year in Oregon.
Souflane El Bakkali is the reigning Olympic Champion and was nominated based on his success at the Budapest World Championship, where he won the 3000m Steeplechase in 8:03.53. On July 16, 2023, Bakkali won the event in 8:03.16 at the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Meet. Interestingly, on May 28, 2023, Bakkali posted his personal and season’s best time of 7:56.68 at Meeting International Mohammed V1 d’Athletisme de Rabat.
While Ingebrigtsen did not win any World titles in 2023, he was dominant in the 2000m, winning the event in 4:43.13 at the Memorial Van Damme Meet on September 8, 2023. Ingebrigtsen also won the two-mile event in 7:54.10 on June 9, 2023 and the one-mile event in 3:43.73 at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on September 16, 2023. He also won the 1500m in 3:27.14 at the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Meet held on July 16, 2023. The dominance and versatility of Ingebrigtsen was on display, when he won the 3000m final in 7:23.63 at the Prefontaine Classic, Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon on September 17, 2023. And this he did, after winning the same event in 7:24.00 at the Meeting de Paris on June 9, 2023.
Miltiadis Tentoglou is a long jumper. Tentoglou’s best jump for the 2023 Season came in the final of the World Athletics Championship in Budapest, where he cut the sands in 8.52m. His next best jump for the season was 8.41m, done at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais on February 15, 2023.
Kasten Warholm did not win the Diamond League Final in the 400m Hurdles. However, he established a Diamond League Record of 46.51. Indeed, Warholm was the most dominant 400m hurdler for the 2023 season, and became the World Champion in the event, winning in 46.89. Prior to this. Warholm posted 46.52 at the Bisset Games on June 15, 2023, 46.51 at the Herculis EBS, Strade Louis 11, Monacao on July 21, 2023 and 46.53 at Prefontaine Classic on September 16, 2023, where he finished second on that occasion.
Noah Lyles has set himself apart, winning three gold medals at the Budapest World Championship in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m. There is no doubt that Lyles is the obvious choice for Male World Athlete of the Year. This is against the background that Lyles has been the most consistent and dominant 200m specialist for the 2023 track and field Season. Indeed, the 26-year-old American closed out the 2023 season with times of 9.83 in 100m and 19.47 in the 200m.
Henley Taylor (Sensenya Ben Nyah)
Freelance Sports Writer
Noah Lyles picture courtesy of www.sourceathletics.com
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